Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Aug 16, 2022, 10:24:47 PMIt's for better or for worse, but I wish that mainstream people could feel that interest in Alien.
Actually I think for a long time, among critics and general moviegoers, the Alien franchise has, arguably, enjoyed higher prestige and overall greater public profile, recognition and respect than the Predator franchise.
It's hard to overstate the sheer impact that "Alien" had on moviegoers and Hollywood in general in 1979. It established the "monster/slasher-kills-characters-one-by-one" trope that was endlessly copied in subsequent movies. The biomechanical design of Giger was completely innovative and a shock to audiences back then. The gritty "working class truckers in space" theme was a huge contrast to the simple fantasy based Star Wars.
And the directors who worked in the Alien franchise all became top directors respected in the film industry. You got Ridley Scott and James Cameron becoming big name Hollywood directors thanks to their work in the Alien Franchise. Even less well-received entries in the franchise, like Alien 3, had future critically acclaimed director David Fincher, who would of course go on to make classics like "Seven", "Fight Club" and "The Social Network". And let's not forget Alien Resurrection, while yet another subpar entry in the franchise, had French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who would go on to make critically successful hits like "Amelie" and "A Very Long Engagement".
In contrast, the only real big name director in the Predator franchise is John McTiernan. His three most famous movies, "Predator", "Die Hard" and "Hunt for Red October", were directed back-to-back. But one could argue the success of those films was due to the fact those movies had terrific scripts to begin with. Heck, those movies could essentially direct themselves. Its telling that McTiernan afterwards has not directed a movie that has the enjoyed the level of critical and box office success as those three films.
And remember, before the release of "Prey", most critics and moviegoers thought the Predator franchise was dead and buried six feet under. After the disaster that was 2018 "The Predator", everyone thought the Predator franchise was finished for good.
Its only right now, thanks to "Prey" enjoying surprisingly good reviews and record ratings on Hulu, that everyone (outside the Alien and Predator fandom) is talking about the Predator franchise. So the current attention on the Predator franchise may be a temporary phenomenon.